1982-83 NHL season
The 1982-83 NHL season was the 66th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row with their second consecutive finals sweep by beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to none. No team in any major professional North American sport has won four consecutive championships since the Islanders. Regular season The Boston Bruins led the league in overall points with 110. The defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders fell from first overall and finished tied for 6th overall and the high-powered, high offence, Edmonton Oilers tied for second overall. The Oilers set a new record, which they had just set the previous year, for most goals in a season with 424 and were led by Wayne Gretzky's 196 points. The Oilers also set a record for most 100-point players in one season on one team as Wayne Gretzky, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, and Mark Messier all scored more than 100 points. For the start of the season, the Colorado Rockies (originally known as the Kansas City Scouts) moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey and became the New Jersey Devils. They also moved to the Patrick Division, forcing a reluctant Winnipeg Jets organization to leave the Norris Division and take Colorado's place in the Smythe. This would be the last relocation of an NHL team until the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas and became the Stars in 1993, while Denver would not see another NHL team of their own until the Quebec Nordiques moved there to become the Colorado Avalanche in June of 1995. Some fans consider this season as the true end for the Original Six era, as the remaining 3 players from that era (Carol Vadnais, Serge Savard, and Wayne Cashman) retired after the season. Cashman was the last to play, losing in the Wales Conference Finals as a member of the Bruins. Final standings Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold Prince of Wales Conference Clarence Campbell Conference Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Stanley Cup playoffs Playoff bracket Finals New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers New York wins the series 4–0. NHL awards All-Star teams Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1982-83 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *Gord Kluzak, Boston Bruins *Dave Andreychuk, Buffalo Sabres *Phil Housley, Buffalo Sabres *Jamie Macoun, Calgary Flames *Mike Vernon, Calgary Flames *Murray Craven, Detroit Red Wings *Brian Bellows, Minnesota North Stars *Craig Ludwig, Montreal Canadiens *Mats Naslund, Montreal Canadiens *Pat Verbeek, New Jersey Devils *Bob Froese, Philadelphia Flyers *Dave Poulin, Philadelphia Flyers *Ron Sutter, Philadelphia Flyers *Rich Sutter, Pittsburgh Penguins *Gary Leeman*, Toronto Maple Leafs *Michel Petit, Vancouver Canucks *Patrik Sundstrom, Vancouver Canucks *Milan Novy, Washington Capitals *Scott Stevens, Washington Capitals *Brian Hayward, Winnipeg Jets Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1982-83 (listed with their last team): *Wayne Cashman, Boston Bruins *Gilles Gilbert, Detroit Red Wings *Reggie Leach, Detroit Red Wings *Garry Unger, Edmonton Oilers *Mike Murphy, Los Angeles Kings *Rejean Houle, Montreal Canadiens *Carol Vadnais, New Jersey Devils *John Davidson, New York Rangers *Ulf Nilsson, New York Rangers *Ian Turnbull, Pittsburgh Penguins *Jacques Richard, Quebec Nordiques *Marc Tardif, Quebec Nordiques *Vaclav Nedomansky, St. Louis Blues *Ivan Hlinka, Vancouver Canucks *Milan Novy, Washington Capitals *Serge Savard, Winnipeg Jets See also * List of Stanley Cup champions * 1982 NHL Entry Draft * 35th National Hockey League All-Star Game * National Hockey League All-Star Game * NHL All-Rookie Team References *Hockey Database *NHL.com